Gas-generator.



2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Pmtm Mar. 12,

I. G. CROUCHER.

GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26. I9I6.

snaren nmmnus canaux L G. ammonia.

GAS GENERMOR.

APPucATmN FILED Jun' 26,1916.

2' SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ima/Mor l 77, @ya whew JAMES G. CRQUCHER, or sAsKArooN, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA.

GAS-GENERATOR.

Spec'caton of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar., 12, 1918.

Application led July 26, 1916. Serial No. 111,427.

To all whom t 'may concern:

Be it known that l, JAMES G. CRoUcHEn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Saskatoon, in the Province of Saskatchewan, Dominion of Canada, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gas-Gren erators, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to new and useful acetylene generators, wherein the structure is extremely simple, safe and effective in operation, and in which the gas producing agent such as calcium carbid is fed automatically in small and suflicient quantities into a body of water to liberate and iin-aintain gas under a constant, even and low pressure, thus avoiding iiuctuation of light emitted by the burners. Another object is to provide means wherein the danger of 'explosion caused by a iiash back is reduced to a minimum. A further and important object is to prevent water in the generator tank Y rom freezing. Other and further olojects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth, and the novel features thereof defined in the appended claims.

1n the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my invention; Fig. 2 is a section of a detail taken upon the line X-X of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an edge view of the carbid feeding wheels.

Like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several iigures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a low pressure tank of any suitable contiguration having a cover B suitably secured thereon. The walls of this tank and cover arepconstructed with a plurality of spaced thicknesses of material 2 forming dead air cells 3 and spaces 4 which are packed with Door heat conducting material or the very best frost resisting material 5 serving to protect the entire generator from the effects of cold. This is important in a coldclimate because it is hazardous if the liquid in the generator freezes. The inner chamber C is' cylindrical and forms a tank to contain water. In the lower portion of this tank a rotatable ,paddle is journaled. This paddle can be turned by a Crank .7 projecting through the wall of the structure to 'stir the residue vand assist in cleaning 'the tank. 'The 'tank is filled withw'a'ter throughla 'funnel 8 and 'a pipe 9 leading downwardly and upwardly into the lower portion of the chamber, the inner end of said pipe being opened and closed by a valve 10 having a stem 11 projecting outwardly through the wall of the structure and turned by the handle12. In use the chamber is filled to approximately the level of the funnel 8 and replenished from time to time to suit requirements. A valved outlet 10 provides means for draining the tank of water and sediment.

Located above the level of the water in the tank isla cylindrical shell 13, the lower end of which is turned inwardly and secured to the inner surface of the wall of the chamber. This shell vis spaced inwardly from the inner wall of the chamberC, said space forming a Sealing well and being filled or nearly filled with a sealing liquid such as coal oil or any non-'freezing liquid. Piaced in the upper end of the cylindrical shell is a carbid hopper 14C, which. tapers downwardly and inwardly, the upper end of said hopper being closed by a cover 14e and formed with a heavy flange 15 which reaches over and rests on the top of the shell 13, thus supporting the hopper and leaving the reservoir free to be lifted out of the shell. This hopper is formed with an outlet 16 in its lower end in which the peripheries of a pair of carbid feeding wheelsvl? and V18v above the water in the tank revolve, said feeding wheels being mounted upon a shaft 19, whichl is freely journaled in a pair of depending brackets 20 and 21 secured to the lower end of the hopper. The lower end of the shell 13 which forms the sealing reservoir is supported by brackets 22 projecting inwardly from the wall of chamber C. D represents a dome or what I term a gasometer, said dome being in the form of an inverted cup having its cylindrical side wall 23 dipping down into the body of oil in the sealing reservoir. The loweredge of the wall 23 is formed with an outturned flange 24 above which are secured a plurality of circular weights 25, which tend to hold the dome down under the influence of upward pressure to an even and low pressure of gas exerted within the dome.

Extendingupwardly between the Yfeed wheels 1'7 and 18 isa feed operating. rod 26, the lower portion vof which lis pivotally -secured to the arm 27, of a bell cranln said bell crank being freelyv jo'urnaledv at its angle'upon the shaft-519'. rThe upper lend` of this rod slides freely through a sleeve 28,

wardlyand. downwardly flaring guard 30,k

`vwhich is secured to supports 31 extending inwardly from the wall of the hopper. This guard holds the carbid in the hopper from Vpressing ag'ainstthe' rod 26, and assists in producing very evenl flow of carbid to the feedwheels.' Placed around the feed rod -is a coil expansion'spring `2, one end of 'which bearsfdownwardly against an in- "wardly' projecting shoulder 33 at the lower end `ofthe sleeve 28." rlfhe upper end of said rod Ipresses against acollar 3 4 secured to the ,feedro'd and guided in its up and down movement by the sleeve." Thisspring tends to force therod Aupwardly and returns the bell'c'rank to normal position vas shown in `Fig. 1'. lidounted 'upon onejof the feed l wheels 17 adjacent theb'ell'crank` is a ratchet wheel' with the teeth 4of which a weighted pawl 36 mounted upon thearm 37 of the lbell crank engages Vautomatically to cause the rfeed wheels 17 and 18 to revolve a step at fa time' whenthe dome presses the rod 26 down. lWhen the fed rod 26 is releasedby the raising of the domeyth'e spring 33 forces ythe feed rod up and `causes the ypawl to ,sweep Yover thel teeth of the ratchet wheels i" in readiness to repeat this operation.

The peripheries yof the feed wheels are formed with pockets 38, which receive the carbid lmaterial fromI the hopper and the center 'of the feed wheels is arrangedat one i iside of thecenter of the outlet of the hopper so that the' weight of thefcarbid received in lthe pockets will assist incausing the wheels vto revolve. The lower end of the feed rod 26 is formed'y witha brake shoe 39, which bears upon the peripheries of the feed wheels to check the'revolutionthereof when the feed rod has returned into superior positivon.` This brake positively stops the feeding- Yofcarbid .and'prevents an excessive amountof the gas generated. The upper end of the feed rod is formedwith a stop or buffer against which theshank ofl an adjusting bolt 41 -presses when the 'dome lowers. due to decrease of the volumeof gas. The pockets 38 in the wheels "17, and

,i8 are arranged in a zig zag course,'so that with a slight turn of the shaft19,onegor the other'.` feed wheel will immediately drop some carbid into thefwater making almost ya Ycontinuous run of fcarbidto the water, while the wheels are in motion.' vythis 'arne'elil'entf MSCI Only-fi vverv Small rurt .0f V`carbid fisfdroppedf into the water fat a time, .but th'isusmall 'amount 7is fs'uiicient' tolgen- :crate gasl'andproducea very evenpressure.

freely up and down to prevent the dome from turning. The hopper is filled or replenished with calcium carbid from time to time by opening the cover B and removing a screw plug 45 from the top of the donie. The spout of a funnel is next inserted through the opening left by said plug and a corresponding opening 46 in thecover 14 and the carbid fed through the funnel. rlhe use of coal oil as a sealing medium in the sealing reservoir is for frost protection. The depth of this oil `depends upon the capacity of the generator. lf an excessive amountof gas occurs in thev generator, 1t will raise the gasometer and the gas will bubble through the sea-ling medium and into that portion of the chamber above the dome, from whence it will egress from the generator through a relief safety pipe 47 t0 the outer atmosphere. Gas is conducted from the generator for commercial use through a filter 50, the upper end of which is provided with a pipe 51 extending upwardly through a duct 52 passing through the hopper and its cover and into the space below the dome.

rlhe lower end of the filter has a duct 53 leading outwardly through the wall of the generator and valved at its outer end. A drip pocket in the pipe 53 in the shape of' a closed pipe 54 extends downwardly into the water in thel tank for any condensation ywhich may occur from the use of the filter have it understood that the constructionY shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to luses other than those above set forth withinthe scope of the following claims.

l-laving described my invention what I yclairnas newl and.y desire to protect'by Letters Patent is:

l. A, gas generator, comprising, in combifnatioma tank having a body' of water therein, asealing liquid receptacle encompassing said tank yon its innerV wall, a freely movable carbid hoppery fremovably`v 'mounted upon said receptaclefand: hav'ingan: outlet above said'water, `a freely movable dome enveloping said hopper and arranged with its wall dipping into the sealing liquid in said rel ceptafc'le,` al revoluble carbid'feedE wheel having pockets` in its periphery arrangedfto re- 'ceive carbid from said'outlet in saidhopper ,n 'drop they sanfiefinl saidl water, `aplaw'l' Hatchet arranged fte "imparta sliep Eby Step .ff-swung'avventura 'sad' when@ fad rod" connected with saidipawl and .arranged i tOjS'ep y ,rhegjsame braille., lorieringipf; said dome; aspring arranged tureturnfsapawl into normal position when said dome returns into superior position, a brake carried by said rod arranged to engage and hold said Wheel from revolving when said dome assumes superior position, a gas supply duct connected with the space below said dome and an escape duct connected with the space above said dome.

2. A gas generator, comprising, in combination, a. tank having a body of water therein, a sealing liquid receptacle encompassing said tank on its inner Wall, a freely movable carbid hopper removably mounted upon said receptacle and having an outlet above said Water, a freely movable dome enveloping said hopper and arranged With its Wall dipping into the sealing liquid in said receptacle, revoluble carbid feed Wheels having pockets in staggered arrangement in their peripheries arranged to receive carbid from said outlet in said hopper and drop the same in said Water, a paivl and ratchet arranged to impart a step by step revolving movement to said Wheels, a feed rod connected with said paivl and arranged to step thc same by the lowering of said dome, a spring arranged to return said pavvl into normal position when said dome returns into superior position7 a brake carried by said rod arranged to engage and hold said Wheels from revolving when said dome assumes superior position, a gas supply duct connected With the space below said dome and an escape duct connected with the space above said dome.

3. A gas generator, comprising, in combination, a tank having a body of Water therein, a. freely movable carbid hopper in said tank above the level of Water therein having an outlet in its lower end, a sealing liquid receptacle surrounding said hopper, a freely movable dome enveloping said hopper and arranged with its Wall dipping into the sealing liquid in said receptacle, a pair of revoluble carbid feed Wheels journaled below said hopper and having pockets in their peripheries arranged in said outlet to receive and drop carbid into the Water in said tank, said pockets being arranged in staggered form, ratchet means operated by the lowering of said dome for revolving said Wheels and returnable to normal position after each feeding operation, a feed rod carried by said ratchet means and arranged to step the same by the lowering of said dome, a brake on said feed rod for holding the feeding Wheels stationary after said dome rises into superior position, and a service gas duet leading from the space below said dome and above said hopper to the exterior of said generator.

4. A gas generator, comprising, in combination, a tank having a body of Water therein and formed with insulated walls, a

liquid sealing chamber circulating around the inner surface of the side of said tank above said Water, a freely movable dome having its side dipping into the liquid seal, a freely movable carbid hopper supported in said sealing chamber having a lower outlet, a rotatable member for receiving carbid from said hopper and adapted when rotated to deliver a portion of its load into said Water for the generation of gas, ratchet means for revolving said rotatable member by the lowering of said dome, a feed rod on vsaid ratchet means arranged to step the same by the lowering of said dome and having a brake adapted to prevent the rotation of the ratchet means by the raising of said dome, and a service duct leading from the space above said Water and belovv said dome.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specication.

JAMES G. CROUCHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

